SMALL BROWN BIKE formed in 1996 in Michigan and released four full-length albums plus EPs and singles over their career. Their 2000 sophomore album Dead Reckoning earned international acclaim and a 5-star review from Kerrang, who praised its "unrivaled depth of emotion." The band toured relentlessly, sharing stages with Hot Water Music, Cursive, Sparta, Cave In, and many others. In 2003, they released The River Bed on Lookout! Records before breaking up later that year. They reunited in 2006 and officially returned in 2009, recording their fourth album Fell & Found in 2011 with producer J Robbins. AV Club praised them as "one of the best purveyors of this sound." The band continued to play shows and festivals through 2016, eventually going on an indefinite hiatus. In 2023, tragedy struck with the passing of one of their founding members, Travis Dopp, after a three-year battle with cancer. In 2026, the remaining founding members—Mike Reed, Ben Reed, and Dan Jaquint—announced shows to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their breakout record, Dead Reckoning, and honor the 30-year anniversary of the band's founding.